Different Details
by AlyssumRose
Summary: Come gather around to listen to my tale. The tale of the Sand Demon and the Leaf Princess. It all begins with a slight change of fate. A small white note moves the winds of destiny, alters the universe and scatters the sands of time.
1. Forest of Death

Gaara POV

"Why, why is she so different?" Gaara's raspy voice questioned. He watched Team 8 make their way to the Tower. He'd noticed them in the bushes, watching him kill the Rain Genin. The one loud boy, with the dog, was shouting. It annoyed him, made him want to kill him. Make his blood rain down. His Mother agreed with him, whispering ways on how to make the boy bleed. The girl was what interested him though. Her team was discussing his last kill, calling him a Monster, and she just looked at them with her large pale eyes, silently disagreeing. He wanted to know why she didn't agree with them. She caught his attention, and Mother's as well. Her short blue hair fell into her eyes, and then she looked over and stared right into his sea green ones. A small smile crept onto her face before she turned her focus to her team once again. The team stopped to rest. The silent boy just stared at his finger, to the bug he'd just found. The loud one played with the dog. The girl was fingering a white piece of paper. When they stood to leave, the girl placed the piece of paper on the rock she'd been sitting on. Then they ran off to finish the exam. Gaara jumped down from the tree and picked up the paper. It simply read: Hyuuga Hinata. A small smirk formed onto his face before his apathetic attitude returned. Sand covered him and he disappeared, going to find his siblings. 'Hyuuga Hinata, hmm. We'll meet again. The next time, I'll figure out why you are so different.'

Hinata POV

Hinata silently drifted off as Kiba-kun continued to insult the boy they'd seen earlier, the one that just killed three genin with no problems and seemed to enjoy it. She didn't understand why they were so surprised and angry with…Gaara was it? The other one, his brother Kankuro had called him that. This was the way of life in the shinobi world. Kiba-kun just doesn't understand it. Hinata may seem a bit shy, but in a fight she would give her best. She isn't physically strong, but that's because no one would train her. Glancing up to the tree she knew was hiding the boy that her team was talking about. Her eyes caught his sea green ones. He was looking at her with unconcealed curiosity; she felt a smile appear on her face and looked back to her team once again.

"Come on let's take a break. We're in no hurry." Kiba-kun had shouted. Hinata silently disagreed. It would be best to get to the tower before resting. In a dangerous situation, one should not let their guard down. She kept this to herself though. Her opinion would be unwanted. Shino-kun was talking to his bug that he'd sent to spy ahead and Kiba-kun was playing with Akamaru. Hinata took out a small piece of paper and wrote down her name: Hyuuga Hinata. His gaze still rested on her, questioningly. Hinata folded the paper and started to fiddle with it.

"We should go, there are some enemy ninja heading our way, the red head's team." Shino had stopped talking to his bug. Kiba jumped to his feet, fear evident even though he tried not to let it show.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's get the hell out of here." They grabbed their bags, getting ready to leave. Hinata grabbed hers and set the paper down on the rock she'd been sitting on. Team 8 then ran off into the forest, heading for the tower. Hinata activated her Byakugan in the pretense that she was searching for enemy ninjas and for the tower. She was watching Gaara, though. Hinata watched as he jumped down from the tree and grabbed the paper she left behind. He opened it up and gave a small smirk before sand engulfed him. He disappeared along with the sand. Hinata gave a small smile and thought. 'I hope we meet again, Gaara.'


	2. Kazekage's Thanks

Gaara POV

"Gaara! Come on, Ichirakus is this way!" Naruto yelled at him. He let his green eyes scan the place. So familiar, yet not. It had been years since the Chunin Exams. Since the day Uzumaki Naruto changed his life. Since he'd seen Hyuuga Hinata. She wasn't on the team that saved him from the Akatsuki. He was slightly dissapointed that they sent the pink one instead. Life as the Kazekage was going well. He was actually here for a buisness meeting with Konoha, but had made his stay longer to have a break. "Penny for your thoughts?" Naruto's face was in front of his. Gaara scowled and pushed him out of the way. "Come on Gaara! This is your vacation, isn't there anything you'd like to do?" The blonde yelled. Gaara stopped for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face.

"Yes, there is something I'd like to do." Naruto's face brightened.

"YATTA! What is it? Tell me and we'll do it, Datteboy!" Gaara stared into his blue eyes, unblinking.

"Where does Hyuuga Hinata live?" That had Naruto confused; he scratched the back of his head.

"Hinata-chan? Why do you want to see her?" Gaara let a small smile form on his lips.

"I need to thank her." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, worn down piece of white paper. Naruto shrugged his shoulder before pointing to the Hyuuga compound, which was visible from where they stood. Naruto looked back to Gaara in time to see sand before he was gone. So, this is Hinata's house. Gaara stood in front to the mansion. He walked over to one of the Hyuuga guards.

"Halt! Who goes…Ah, Kazekage-sama! I apologize; I didn't know it was you." The guard looked worried; Gaara's eyes hadn't left him.

"Give this to Hinata." He dropped the white paper into the guard's hand and he left. 'Hyuuga Hinata, I thank you, for giving me a chance without a second thought. I thank you for being different.'

Hinata POV

Hinata stood with her team. Kurenai was complimenting their performance on their latest mission. It was a B-ranked mission, to take down a group of thugs terrorizing a nearby village. Kurenai finally dismissed them.

"Hey, I heard that freak from the Chunin Exam was here, Gana or something." Kiba airily stated, trying to stimulate a conversation. Shino looked unimpressed, but it was hard to tell with most of his face covered.

"His name is Gaara and he is the Kazekage, it would be best to remember that." His apathetic voice seemed to anger Kiba. They started to argue, well Kiba yelled and Shino didn't really care.

"Ano…I have to get home." Hinata whispered. Kiba waved a hand at her, not stopping his talking. Shino gave a nod before insulting Kiba once again. Hinata walked down the road to her house. 'Gaara is here. I wonder how much he's changed.' She remembered his instability. 'Naruto-kun said that he'd changed, for the better.' She started to fiddle her fingers. She smiled at the people who greeted her. Shop owners, children, and various people. As she was about to head past the Hyuuga guards something changed in her routine. A male guard nervously approached her. I wonder what he needs. She wonders silently.

"A.., Hinata-hime, I have a request from the Kazekage. He asked me to deliver this message to you." He handed her a familiar piece of paper and turned around, fleeing from her sight. It took her a moment to realize why it seemed so familiar. 'It's the paper I gave to Gaara-san, but why did he still have it, and why did he give it back to me?' She peeled the paper open. She read her handwriting: Hyuuga Hinata. In a small and neat scrawl underneath that read: Thank you.


	3. Hinata's Cinnamon Bunns

Hinata POV

Hinata spent a minute staring at the paper in shock. 'Why would Kazekage-san keep this paper for so long? Why thank me, I just gave him my name. I really didn't do anything.'

"Is something wrong, Hinata-san?" A familiar voice asked, worry hidden. She lifted her gaze to her cousin, Neji. She gently placed the paper in her pocket.

"N-no." She slightly stuttered, her face lightened by a small blush. "If you excuse me, Neji-nii-san. I have something I need to do." Hinata walked past Neji, face downward. She didn't notice his concerned stare as she entered the house. The halls were deserted, she noted, probably at a family gathering. 'One that I wasn't invited to, again.' She bitterly thought. 'It'll change, once I show them that I have gotten stronger. They still believe me to be the weak stuttering girl they once knew.' Hinata shook her head of the negative thoughts. Opening the door to the kitchens she reveled in the familiarity that it gave her. No matter how much people belittled her fighting skills, no one could deny her the fact that she could cook. She immediately set to work.

Gaara POV

Gaara stared at Naruto's moving lips with detachment. He saw the lips moving but didn't hear. In the beginning he had listened enough to get the fact that he was being lectured about running off without telling him. Gaara tuned back in when he heard Naruto mention Hinata.

"How do you even know Hinata-chan anyway! I never saw you talk to her ever, and she's never mentioned knowing you!" Naruto jumping around stopped and his eyes gazed into Gaara's, evidently waiting for an answer. He didn't get one, merely a statement.

"Tell me about her." Naruto looked at him in confusion, which turned into understanding.

"You don't know her?" He concluded. "You have a crush on Hinata-chan!" He nodded at his deduction. Gaara stared at him blankly. Naruto looked at his facial expression. "Don't tell me you don't know what a crush is Gaara!" At his unmoving face, Naruto face palmed. "Well, uh, how do you explain this? You want to know more about her, so you are interested in her, right?" Gaara slowly nodded. "Do you feel anything when you see her?" 'I still want to know why she is different then the others. Is this why? Do I have a…crush on her?' Gaara didn't show his confusion. He noted that Naruto seemed uncomfortable trying to explain and that he didn't explain things well, either. He decided to talk to his brother on this subject. Naruto decided to answer Gaara's question. "Hinata's a nice girl, kinda weird though. She's pretty silent and doesn't have that much self confidence." His face darkened. "Her family seems bent on making her feel useless; always telling her that she's never good enough. But she's risen above that and seeks to prove herself to her family." Gaara's eyes narrowed when he heard about her family. "Other than that, I don't really know her that well." Naruto shrugged.

"I'm leaving." Gaara stated, giving him the warning that he didn't last time, sand gathering around him.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MENT WHEN I SAID YOU SHOULDN'T LEAVE WITHOUT A WARNING!" Naruto yelled out to the empty spot that once held Gaara. Grumbling, he left to go eat some ramen at Ichirakus.

Gaara walked into the house that his siblings and he were staying at. He went to the living room and found his siblings looking at a small box. "Kankuro. Temari." He greeted them. They both jumped in surprise, looking behind them.

"Oh, Gaara. Hey." Temari smiled. "Do you know a girl around this tall," She made a gesture with her hands. "With blue hair?" 'Hinata, what was she doing here??' Gaara nodded. "She told us to give this to you." Temari gave him the box and a card.

Kankuro gave a lecherous grin. "She your girlfriend?" His eyebrows wiggled to further his point. Kankuro stopped when Gaara threw a glare his way. His fingers closed around the card and opened it up. The hand script was the same as the note he was given so long ago. It read: There's nothing to thank me for. Gaara raised his nonexistent eyebrow when he lifted the box's lid off. There were about a dozen cinnamon buns sitting there. He looked back at the note. 'So she wishes to play this game.' Gaara smiled, to the shock of his siblings. 'Then let the games begin.'


	4. Single Glass Rose

Author's Note: Yo! Three reviews already. That's more than I thought I'd get. Well, Thank you Lexi for being my first reviewer! Thank you Loved-chan for being the second reviewer, but first to have an account. Thank you violet404 for being the first to put me on story alert. Thank you DNAstar for being the first to give me a review, put me on favorites and story alert…I just realized this…I didn't put a disclaimer.

I do not own Naruto…but I am a ninja:D Any way, I mean who really reads these, onward to the story!^^

Hinata POV

The starry night blinked above and the wind sung with unshared secrets. Hinata could hear her harsh breath as she struck the training dummy. Low on chakra, she sat down and took a sip of her water. 'I wonder if he liked the cinnamon buns.' Hinata smiled as she thought of Gaara having sticky cinnamon all over his face. Looking at the moon she let the breeze brush over her still form. Hinata felt her cousin's chakra before she saw him.

"Hinata-san, you have been training long enough. If you stay out any longer you could catch a cold." Neji carefully shielded his concern. Hinata gave him a smile.

"O-okay." She shivered. It had been colder than she realized. Neji shrugged and headed for the Hyuuga Compound, leaving her to follow. Hinata gave one last glance to the moon before trailing after her cousin. 'Are you looking at the same moon I am, Gaara?'

Hinata sighed as she caught sight of her _home_. Walking into the house, she heard Neji's bedroom door close. She went up the stairs and slid into her room. The pale white walls mocked her and gave the room an unwelcoming feel. Barely anything but the essentials were in her room. Hinata opened her dresser and pulled out a long purple nightgown. Slowly, she took off her sweaty training clothes and decided to take a shower tomorrow. She pulled the nightgown on and headed to her bed but her eye caught something at her window. Confused, she walked over. Sitting on the window was a single glass rose holding onto a note. Her new one. The one she had just given Gaara this day. Hinata opened the letter, ignoring her own writing, she sought Gaara's. Her eyes opened slightly in surprise at what it read: I have everything to thank you for. Hinata poked her head out and looked around. No one was out but there was a small pool of sand on the outer window sill. 'Gaara, came here himself.' Hinata closed the window. Picking up the rose, she let a smile form on her face. 'I guess this means I have to give him something in return. Gaara, if this is what you wish to play, then let the games begin.' Hinata didn't know she had repeated the same thought Gaara had. She placed the rose on her dresser and silently padded her way to her sisters room when she heard a sob. Hinata stared sadly down at Hanabi, who was tossing and turning in nightmares. She sat down on Hanabi's bed and ran her fingers through her hair, singing.

**I'm always here for you**

**Know this it true**

**Whether you be sleeping**

**You're secrets I'm keeping**

**I love you so much**

**But I know better than to touch**

**I know you don't love me**

**That I can plainly see**

**It doesn't stop me from loving you**

**Watching silently as you grew**

**Into the beautiful child I see**

**But you don't see me**

**Your silent shadow I am**

**The girl that's a sham**

**I am here so hush little one**

**Waking can wait for the sun.**

Hinata got up when Hanabi stopped moving and laid peacefully. She went back to her room and crawled into her covers. Darkness took her in.

Gaara POV

Gaara waited until Temari had left with the one kid, Shikamaru he heard her call him, and Kankuro left with some woman he hadn't seen before. He set of, already determining his destination. Gaara found who he'd been looking for.

"Hatake-san." Gaara looked into his one, uncovered, eye. Kakashi looked up from his book in question.

"Kazekage-sama, what a surprise." Kakashi's expression contradicted his revelation.

"I need your assistance in something." Kakashi looked intrigued. Gaara didn't continue.

"What is it that you need _my help with?" Kakashi glanced at the young man._

"_I need you to perform a Katon(fire) jutsu." Gaara said shortly. Kakashi raised an eyebrow._

"_Whatever for, Kazekage-sama?" Kakashi shook his head when all he received was a grunt. Gaara led them to a small training ground. "So…" Kakashi was cut of when a pool of sand appeared in front of him, shaping itself into a rose._

"_Make it glass." Gaara stared at the man, silently daring him to disobey. Kakashi just smiled._

"_A woman catch your eye, Kazekage-sama. Well, who's the lucky woman?" Kakashi asked, interested. Gaara's stare became a glare._

"_Glass. Now." Kakashi raised both hands in submission. Signing, he let loose a low-leveled katon jutsu, just hot enough to turn Gaara's sand to glass._

"_There you go! I'm sure who ever gets…" Kakashi looked around before realizing he'd been ditched. Shrugging, he pulled out his book. 'Now, where was I.'_

_Gaara appeared at the Hyuuga Compound. His senses still heightened, not mattering to the fact his demon had been removed. He found her lavender-vanilla sent and followed it to her room. He placed the rose on the inside of her window sill, jumped onto a tree and waited. Patiently._

_Gaara's eyes snapped to Hinata the minute he sensed her chakra. He put a hand to his eye and created his Third Eye, and watched through that instead. He noticed her clothing and her breathing and deduced that she'd been training. Gaara silently watched the room and he was rewarded when Hinata silently slid into the room. He watched as she slowly started to change and his heartbeat began to pump faster. He watched as the moon shed light onto her figure. His grip on the branch tightened. 'Is this what a Naruto was trying to explain.' Gaara was confused. His eye followed her out of the room, his hearing caught her singing and he was transfixed. He wanted her to sing to him. 'What is this feeling?' Gaara grabbed his head lightly. He sat there all night and watched her, wanting to understand but not being able to._


	5. Ice Heart

**Author's Note:** Hey! Sorry about not posting sooner. I have no excuses, I'm just a lazy person, but all those people out there that reviewed me and put me on their story alerts/favorites made me finally put away my laziness and finally make this one. Hope you enjoy it:D

Hinata POV

There was barely anyone around at the shops when Hinata walked through them.

'_Now, what to get Gaara-san? How can I beat a glass rose?'_ Hinata went in several stores and came out equally dissatisfied. Nothing was meeting her standards. Finally she heaved a sigh and went to the training grounds, her team was probably just arriving.

Her prediction was correct. Kiba was complaining about how early they had to be up and Shino stared silently at him. Kurenai stood in the front, playing the role of a serious sensei. Hinata gathered all of her courage only to be told that they could have the day off. How was she supposed to get stronger if they always got days off. Kiba let out a yip of joy and raced off with Akamaru. Shino heaved a small sigh and walked off to find new bugs to add to his collection.

'_Well, it does give me more time to figure out what to give Gaara-san._' Hinata reasoned with herself. Hinata Figured that she'd walk around Konoha until inspiration hit. The dirt road held her attention before she heard a familiar voice. It was Gaara's. Her pale eyes flew up and her heart started to pound. Then she realized that he hadn't noticed her. He was talking to a civilian. Whirling, she blended herself in with the crowd. Her ears tuned into what had happened. Apparently the civilian had knocked into Gaara-san. The man was on the ground begging for his life.

"I'm not going to kill you." Gaara-san reached a hand down to help the poor man up. The man had other ideas and scooted back away from the helping hand. The people around started to whisper horrible things about him.

"_**He's the monster that attacked our village in the Chunin exams." "Why are they letting **_him_** into our village?" "He's just a heartless freak! Look at that poor man!"**_

Hinata could tell the last remark she'd heard had hit a chord in him. His back straightened and he walked away. Tears pooled at her eyes and she thought of the perfect gift. Hinata ran down to the lake, willing herself to be faster. The gift would be given to him. Today.

Gaara POV

Gaara's sleepless night didn't bother him. He could sleep if he wanted to, but he was still paranoid. The years of the Tanuki wouldn't be erased so easily. The only thing that annoyed him about it was the fact that Temari was now giving him a lecture about how not sleeping isn't healthy and now that he can sleep he should do so. He stared her down, but it seemed not to work, so he turned and walked out the door; ignoring the yelling behind him.

When he reached the road he frowned. He'd planned on asking his brother for advice on these…feelings. He'd know more about them than Naruto, hopefully.

'_Kankuro is more than likely still sleeping._' Gaara deducted. He'd ask later on. Lost in thought, Gaara didn't notice a man walking right into him until the man fell down. The thought was broken, so he reached a hand down to help, but the man just scooted away in terror. _'He is…afraid of me.'_ Gaara thought detachedly. He'd hoped that this would've stopped, the tanuki no longer resided in him. He heard the whispers. The last one felt like a physical blow. _**"He's just a heartless freak! Look at that poor man."**_ Heartless Freak, it replayed over and over. Gaara straightened himself out and walked away. No one could see the single tear streak down his face.

Hinata POV

'_Finished._' Hinata thought satisfied. Her present was in a small blue box with a folded white paper laying on top, tied with a violet ribbon. No sooner did she place it in her bag then the clouds start pouring out water. It started out as a sprinkle and soon lead to a down poor. Thanking the fact that her bag was water proof, she set out for her destination. Gaara-san's house. Weaving through the town, she took many shortcuts and alley ways. Finally she stood in front of the grey door to Gaara-san's house. Raising a shaking, pale hand, she knocked. Reaching into her bag, she withdrew the gift and patiently waited. Her patience was rewarded with the door opening. Temari-san stood in all her glory, glaring down at her. Hinata shivered even more under the hateful eyes, coming to a conclusion that Gaara-san told her something had happened or she'd just known. Hinata'd place a bet on the latter.

"A-ah. C-could-d you," Dear god Temari was putting of some killer intent. Sucking in some breath she spit it out as quick as she could before high tailing it out of there. "Please-give-this-to-Gaara-san-for-me-thank-you." Pushing the box into her hands she raced home before Temari could ask any questions.

Gaara POV

Gaara sat on his bed staring at the wall blankly. The same scene playing through his mind. Relocations of the civilians' faces burned into his eyes. He heard a knock on the door but paid no mind. Temari would get it and scare off any unwanted visitors. Unexpectedly, he heard a knock on _his_ door. She knew to leave him alone at such times. Temari's head popped in and slowly her body slipped in afterwards.

"Um. Gaara. The blue girl gave me this to give to you." She handed me a blue box with a violet ribbon before sliding out as quick as she'd came. He pulled the card out from under the ribbon and read the words.

**:**Here's something to help you remember that you do have a heart**:**

His eyes widened. Slowly he withdrew the object in the box. An glass heart necklace glimmered in the artificial light. He looked closer and realized that it wasn't glass, it was ice and it didn't seem to be melting. Lowering it over his head, his eyes got a determined glint. _'I've got a crush on Hinata and she will be mine. Now all I have to do is figure out what a crush is.'_


End file.
